Table_1_Sex Differences in Body Ownership in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder.DOCX

A strong male prevalence has been observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) since its definition, but the behavioral manifestations of sex disparity have yet to be clarified. Here, we investigate sex differences in the perception of the Numbness Illusion (NI), a procedure based on a tactile conflict, in adults with ASD and with typical development. We aim to assess if women and men with ASD perceive NI-dependent body ownership differently and whether sex differences emerge in individuals with typical development. To elicit the NI, participants pressed their right-hand palm against the confederate’s hand and stroked with the thumb and the index finger of their left hand the joined index fingers in a synchronous or asynchronous way. Results reveal that women with ASD present a reversed and atypical pattern for the NI compared to men with ASD and a group of matched controls. In particular, women with ASD report a stronger illusion than men with ASD, that is more evident in the asynchronous conditions. In the asynchronous condition, women in the ASD group report stronger NI as compared to women and men in the Control group, whereas men with ASD only to men in the Control group. In the typical sample, the NI emerges only in the synchronous condition and no sex difference is observed. We discuss our results in terms of potential advantage of women in sociality and sensory information processing that might lead women with ASD to use different modalities to solve the illusion compared to men with ASD. In sum, these outcomes describe sex differences in individuals with ASD in the domain of illusory perception. This may be used in the future to support the characterization of the female phenotype of autism.自自闭症谱系障碍（Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD）首次被界定以来，其男性高发的特征便已被广泛观测到，但性别差异对应的行为表现仍有待阐明。本研究针对自闭症谱系障碍成人与典型发育个体，探究其在麻木错觉（Numbness Illusion, NI）感知上的性别差异——该实验范式基于触觉冲突原理构建。本研究旨在评估自闭症谱系障碍群体中的女性与男性，其对依赖于身体所有权的麻木错觉感知是否存在差异，同时探究典型发育群体中是否存在性别差异。为诱发麻木错觉，受试者需将右手掌抵住实验同谋的手掌，并用左手拇指与食指以同步或异步的方式，共同抚触双方并拢的食指。研究结果显示，相较于自闭症谱系障碍男性群体与匹配对照组，自闭症谱系障碍女性群体的麻木错觉呈现出反向且非典型的模式。具体而言，自闭症谱系障碍女性报告的错觉强度高于自闭症谱系障碍男性，该差异在异步条件下更为显著。在异步条件下，自闭症谱系障碍女性报告的麻木错觉强度显著高于对照组女性与对照组男性，而自闭症谱系障碍男性仅较对照组男性表现出更强的错觉。在典型发育样本中，麻木错觉仅在同步条件下出现，且未观测到性别差异。本研究从女性在社交与感觉信息处理层面的潜在优势角度展开讨论，该优势或导致自闭症谱系障碍女性相较于男性，采用不同的认知策略来处理该错觉任务。综上，本研究揭示了自闭症谱系障碍个体在错觉感知领域的性别差异，该发现未来可用于辅助表征自闭症女性的临床表型。